Church of the Endless Ocean
The official religion of Yaw the Primal Elemental of Water. The Church is also heavily tied to the Kingdom of the Waves.
Divine Origins
As Yaw is one of the oldest beings in creation, she as had followers from when the first of mortal life began to crawl out of primordial pools. While it has gone through severel incarnations,, the church in its current state was formed alongside the Kingdom of the Waves in 2650 A.C. Under the direction of Yaws chosen peopl, the Eleyaw, the scattered tribes came together to fight Chrius, the titan of Frost, and crafted the first of the city-ships.
Tenets of Faith
Yaws divine followers must adhere to the following code
- Yaw is the one true ruler of the waves. I shall not allow others to to proclaim false ownership or attempt to bend the waves to their whims.
- While the waves may seem chaotic to the mortal eye, they move in accordance to Yaws divine will. I will not question those movements.
- I shall strive to protect the Eleyaw, as they have been ordained by Yaw to act on the water on her behalf.
- Just as water always flows in accordance to Yaw's wants, I shall always act in the service of the church, and not attempt to swim against the waves.
- Like a crashing wave of a great storm, I shall build up my force for the opportune moment. When I finally strike, I shall hold nothing back.
- The waves ebb and flow, both providing bounty and bringing destruction. I shall always remember to respect their power while I journey through Yaw's domain.
Ethics
The church is mostly concerend with enforcing the laws of the Kingdom of the Waves and attempting to quell the pirates of the Lawless Surf and unify the ocean of Vatenrelm than any sort of grand goals of good versus evil. The church seeks to emulate Yaw's distant nature, focusing soley on long-term rulership, and thus indivdual ships and ship-cities are often run very differently. Some priest rule over their congregation with an iron fist, while others are far more demcocratically run. Most run a middle line, allowing its members many freedoms, as long as no major laws are broken, in which case punishment is often dealt out swift and harshly.
Worship
The back of ships, near the rudder, often houses a shrine to Yaw, as well as the bowsprites often being carved in her liking. For the large city-ships, churches and worship areas are often dock-like areas are often crafted on the bottom sections of the boat, so that parishiners can easily listen to and accsess the water during worship.
Worship often takes place at high tide, with one preist standing in the depths of the waters and speaking to those in the more shallow areas, but all members of the congregation have some part of their body in the water.
Priesthood
Priests of the Church become known as Tide-callers, and are responsible for blessing ships and aiding in guiding ships in their travels, utilizing their aquamancy. A caller-in-training will usually become fully ordained on their first long-term journey, which is usually a newly crafted ships maiden voyage. They usually then serve on that ship or transfer to one of the Kingdom of the Waves naval vessels for military service, eventually retiring to work in a stationary temple as an elder on one of the ship-cities. Nearly all sea-callers are Eleyaw, but humans or other exceptionally talented Watershifters are known to join their ranks.
Granted Divine Powers
Minor blessings of the followers of the Endless Ocean include the ability to have a small influence over tidal forces and a protection against intense cold and water-based attacks.
Devout followers of the Endless Ocean gain a wide variety of water-based powers, including a greater resistance against cold, the ability to infuse ones body with cold energy, the ability to sculpt weapons out of water, the ability to summon and transform into water or ice elementals, and the ability to heal themselves by submerging their bodies in water.
Political Influence & Intrigue
The Church is the offical religion of the wave-spanning kingdom known as the Kingdom of the Waves, and thus the church holds massive sway over the policies of the Kingdoms. Official ship captians must be ordianed by the church in nearly every case, with the only exception being those personally appointed by the royal family. All ships must also travel with an official preist of the church, known as a tide-caller.
Sects
The church is diveded into three main sects: The Waveguard, the Tide-Callers, and Shipwrights.
The Tide-Callers are the mages of the church, and are held in the highest regards. They utilize their magic to guide the kingdoms ship-cities and interperate the whims of Yaw.
The Waveguard is composed of those who are not skilled in magic, and are assigned as navymen, bodyguards and pirate hunters.
Those without martial or magical talent, and who make up the majority of the church are known as Shipwrights. These members are responsible for the upkeep and mantinece of the ship-cities of the Kingdom.
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